Then all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have taken My sword from its sheath, not to return it again.’
Parallel translations
- WEB All flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword out of its sheath. It will not return any more.”’
- KJV That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
- NKJV that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore.” ’
- NASB So humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again.” ’
- NLT Everyone in the world will know that I am the Lord. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All flesh will know that the Lord has drawn His sword, and it will not return to its sheath. The judgment is certain and will not be recalled.
Overview
God declares that this act of judgment is unmistakably His and will accomplish its purpose before it is sheathed. The image of the sword not returning stresses the irreversible certainty of the coming destruction. As with the unquenchable fire, the goal is that all may know the Lord through His righteous judgments.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ezek 21:30Return the sword to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
- Nah 1:9Whatever you plot against the LORD, He will bring to an end. Affliction will not rise up a second time.
- 1 Sam 3:12On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his family, from beginning to end.
- Jer 23:20The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
- Ezek 20:48Then all people will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.”
- 1 Kgs 9:7–9then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
- Isa 45:23By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
- Deut 29:24–28So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- Isa 55:11so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Num 14:21–23“Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 21:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.